Saffi forced herself to smile for the younger girl's sake. Mary was very aptly named, and she had a gentleness about her that helped Saffi keep calm. Before she could answer, the girls behind her were talking again, loudly.
"Some whores just can't get enough of dicks."
"Yeah, like fucking terrorists aren't enough---"
The comment got to Saffi and she whirled around, unable to believe someone could be so blatantly racist. "Excuse me?"
The two girls were just about her age, both of them artificial blondes and dressed in identical Burberry dresses, Ferragamo boots, and clutching matching Gucci purses.
Great, Saffi thought. Jeremy was being badmouthed by the Olsen twins in knockoff designer outfits. Because they were fake, even though most people wouldn't have known it. But then, that was one of the perks of being Pearl Beaufort's daughter.
Burberry Blond One looked uneasy at being confronted publicly, but she quickly hid it behind a derisive smile. "Do you want me to repeat it?"
"Yes," Saffi said calmly, "I do. Because I'm going to have you reported for racism and discrimination, which are considered major offenses in this university."
Burberry Blond 2 came to her friend's defense, snapping, "You think you've got it all, don't you? Even though Staffan Aehrenthal married you, don't think it's going to last. It won't! So if you've lined up here to have your name changed, don't bother."
"Ah, but I will bother. Because, you know, I'm rich and I can afford to pay again to have my name changed back if it doesn't work out." She looked pointedly at the dress, the purse, and the boots. "I'm really, really, really rich." She stroked her original Chanel purse.
Twenty minutes later, Mary was still laughing as she recounted Saffi's earlier confrontation. "That was so awesome, Saffi!"
"It wasn't really," Saffi confided guiltily. "I've never done something like that before." She took out her phone and started checking Twitter, needing to know if there was some way that what happened had already made it on the Internet.
"Rub people's noses in your wealth---like that kind of something?" Mary teased.
Saffi made a face. "Jeremy was a victim of bullying and racism when he was young so it just touched a nerve." She started to say something more, but then she saw the most recent tweets mentioning her and she paled.
Correctly interpreting the look because she had also seen how the fangirl community reacted to the news of Staffan and Saffi's wedding, Mary said quietly, "Don't let what they're saying get to you, Saffi. You know how they are. They're just reeling because they didn't see this coming. And they don't know the truth."
"Yeah, I know that."
"They'll understand eventually, the moment you and Staffan work things out---" Mary stopped speaking when Saffi looked at her with sudden horror, her eyes wide and dark with anxiety.
"What is it?"
"Chloe – Staffan's ex … she's here---as in here, today, now."
****
A trail left by fangirls was always easy to follow since they had a tendency to be very detailed. In no time, she was able to pinpoint Chloe Gustav's exact location – a hotel owned by the Aehrenthal family. The moment Saffi passed through the doors, she nearly drowned under the chorus of greetings she received from all the employees. Everyone referred to her as Mrs. Aehrenthal – the first time she heard herself being called that. It was surreal and just a little heartbreaking, leaving Saffi rubbing her eyes to get rid of the tears as she entered the lobby café.
When she opened her eyes again, Chloe Gustav stood in front of her, a catty smile on her still-beautiful face. "I was thinking it could not be you, but I see that it is you."
Saffi wanted to puke. This was Staffan's first love, the girl who had single-handedly ruined Staffan's life. No matter what she did, even if this whole stupid scandal about their baby hadn't blown up in the newspapers, Saffi had a sinking feeling that she could never replace Chloe in Staffan's heart. First loves were special – she should know since … since Staffan was her first love.
Chloe was heading to one of the tables next to the windows, her hips swaying with each move. Tall and svelte, she was like an overgrown Marilyn Monroe minus the beauty mark. Saffi followed behind slowly, stumbling once before she caught herself, feeling naked under the awkward gazes of the staff around them. One of them would report what was happening to Staffan – she was sure of it.
When they sat across each other, Saffi saw to her satisfaction that Chloe's age was beginning to show. It was such a small thing, but she needed all the motivation she could get. With every second that passed, Saffi felt like Staffan was drifting closer and closer to this woman's arms. And she just couldn't let that happen – she would do anything not to let that happen.
"You shouldn't be here, you know." Chloe fired the opening salvo. She felt like she had to. The papers hadn't done her justice. In those grainy photos, Sapphire March – now the new Mrs. Staffan Aehrenthal – had simply appeared young and unsure. The first part rankled, making Chloe want to take advantage of the latter.
But faced with Staffan's stunningly beautiful bride, Chloe could feel every year of her age – and more – showing up on her thrice-lifted face. This was the kind of woman she had always hated and envied when she and Staffan had been living on the other side of the fence as children. They had only been able to look enviously at what was happening with the wealthy ones.
Before Staffan's child bride could answer, Chloe sneered, "Little girls have nothing to do with adult business." She expected the girl to get mad, perhaps even cry, but the only thing this one did was look at her steadily with clear blue eyes.
It was unnerving, the way those eyes seemed to hide nothing and see everything, and especially when Staffan's new wife started to speak. "Staffan is my husband, Ms. Gustav." Her voice was strained but cultured.
Flustered by the younger woman's unexpected poise and mad at herself for feeling that way, Chloe shot back, "Based on what I hear, he doesn't want to be your husband. They say you forced him to be your baby's daddy when everyone knows it's the prince's."
The words made Saffi twist her hands on her lap, and she was thankful they were hidden from view under the table. She adjusted the napkin on her lap to give her an excuse to break her eye contract with Chloe. If she felt this bad that the whole world seemed to be laughing at Staffan for being cuckolded, how much worse did Staffan actually feel?
"He's the man I love, Ms. Gustav." When Saffi lifted her gaze to meet Chloe's eyes, she didn't bother hiding her emotions. They were plainly visible in her eyes for everyone to see. "He's the man I'll always love so please don't make trouble for him again."
The words were so earnestly spoken Chloe could feel herself whitening. Memories of the past she had tried so hard to forget came back. Once – once she had been as idealistic as this girl. But reality soon taught her that life was a lot different from what she imagined it would be in her head. She had left Staffan, hoping that by marrying someone with the right background, she would finally feel complete and vindicated.
But the marriage had only made Chloe feel displaced, like she was a square peg forcing herself to fit into an elite and restrictive circle.
Deliberately pushing her bitter thoughts away, Chloe said tightly, "You're barking at the wrong tree. It's not my fault that Staffan always wants to help me." Before the other woman could speak, she said in a hard voice, "He loved me. He was head over heels in love with me and though I left him, I didn't cheat on him like you did."
The words were like a punch in the gut, and the pain she felt almost caused her to double over. She could feel the baby inside her moving urgently, as if reacting to her discomfort. She held her stomach protectively, willing her baby to calm down. It's okay, baby, it's okay … we'll fix this. Mommy … will do everything to fix this.
With trembling fingers, she reached for her purse and took out two things that had Chloe raising her brow: a pen and a checkbook.
"State your price, Ms. Gustav," she said tonelessly. "Whatever it is that you need from Staffan – I'll give it to you. Just please don't bother him again. I know … I know I've hurt him, too, but---" Saffi looked away, unable to bear seeing Chloe's face as she admitted a painful fact. "---it doesn't mean that you can have him back. It only means neither of us---" Saffi's voice caught. Her fingers tightened around the pen as she forced herself to say the words. "It only means neither of us deserves him."